Poems of a Thousand Masters

It was originally titled "A selection of poems by a thousand distinguished poets of the Tang and Song dynasties” compiled by Liu Kezhuang (1187-1269) and subsequently condensed by Xie Fangde (1226–89).

Subsequently, Xie Fangde, a descendent of the Southern Song dynasty organized and edited the collection, categorizing the poems into seven character quatrains and regulated verses.

Ming dynasty Wang Xiang further organized and edited an expanded version of the anthology, adding a total of 84 five-character quatrains and verses.

During the Ming dynasty, the anthology was part of the curriculum adopted by imperial court in educating youth of the royal families, along with classic textbooks including the Analects, the Mencius, the Zhongyong, and others.

Lastly, poets from the Tang and Song dynasties are arranged in a disorderly manner within chapters, resulting in what they describe as a remarkably eccentric format.